Wowza, what a week it has been.
We had the US midterms, which always seem to consume as much of the world as they do America. We’ve seen the biggest heist in human history after the $6.3 billion crypto hack on Binance. And of course, who could forget the big one…
Book 7 of The Divided Region was sent off to my editor.
But there’s another story you might not have heard about unless you’re from the UK:
A chap from the north of England did the unthinkable — he walked around the world and returned this week, greeting his mother with an almighty hug.
Take a guess how long it took him…
Or maybe I’ll just tell you in this week’s *Fun Fact Friday,* which is centred around the extraordinary feats of insane people.
Starting with:
Did you know… it took Karl Bushby (the aforementioned bloke above) 28 years to walk and swim around the world?
The British former paratrooper left Punta Arenas, Chile, on 1 November 1998 with one rule: no motorised transport to advance, and no going home until he finished.
What he thought might take 12 years stretched to 28.
He covered roughly 31,000–36,000 miles across four continents, crossed the frozen Bering Strait on foot, swam the Caspian Sea, and finished by swimming the English Channel. On 2 November 2026, he finally walked back into Hull and hugged his mum outside the house he’d left almost three decades earlier.
(Does that mean that the last time he was in a car, he had to roll down his windows? 👀)
Did you know… Russ Cook (the “Hardest Geezer”) ran the entire length of Africa?
Starting in South Africa, the British ultra-runner covered more than 10,000 miles over 352 days. That’s the equivalent of 384 marathons.
He was robbed at gunpoint, got lost in a jungle, battled injury and illness, and still… he made it to the Tunisian coast.
(Robbed at gunpoint is scary. Getting chased by lions would have been WAY cooler. Still, highly impressive.)
Did you know… Sarah Thomas became the first person to swim the English Channel four times in a row?
In 2019, the American open-water swimmer completed a continuous four-way crossing (England–France–England–France–England) in just over 54 hours, all while battling sleep deprivation, salt-swollen skin, and extreme fatigue.
(Shortly after unearthing this fact, I told Lady Laura I reckon she could beat that record inside 48 hours. She turned to me and said, “Piss off.” Tall Poppy Syndrome strikes again.)
Did you know… Matt Spears jet-skied solo from Washington to Alaska?
In 2026, the YouTuber rode a modified Sea-Doo roughly 1,300 miles up the Inside Passage to Skagway, Alaska, completely unsupported.
He camped along the way, fished for food, and dealt with rough open water, mechanical problems, cold conditions, and wildlife encounters (including bears and orcas), becoming one of the first people to complete the route solo on a personal watercraft.
(I highly recommend watching his YouTube video on it. Here’s the link. I tell ya, you North Americans are so bloody lucky to have such breathtaking terrain. Yes, I know we Europeans have the Highlands, the Alps, and other stunning landscapes, but they are not nearly as vast or untouched.)
Did you know… Lael Wilcox set the women’s record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by bicycle?
In 2024, the American rider covered more than 18,000 miles through 21 countries in just three and a half months — an average of over 170 miles a day.
(I bet her arse was sore! Bicycle seats are the modern version of the Judas Cradle. Do NOT look that up. You’ve been warned.)
Some pretty incredible feats, even if they are a bit off-beat.
That’s the beautiful thing about humanity, eh?
For all our warts, we are a curious species, and it’s this curiosity that has driven some of our greatest tragedies — but also our finest innovations, which have gone on to transform our societies.
This curiosity can be traced back to the caveman days, right through to today.
It’s funny because I feel like I’m seeing more and more people glance back at those bygone eras with something close to longing.
Funnier still… I *get* this romanticism.
I’m one of those chaps who have a strange sense of nostalgia for a period I never lived in.
Don’t get me wrong, I quite like central heating, gas stoves, and steaming hot showers. I do. But I also understand this yearning for simpler times.
Sadly, we don’t possess time machines (yet), so time travel is off the table. But what we do have are plenty of stories set in these distant times. So even if we can’t personally visit places that live only in the history books, we can at least enjoy them vicariously.
And if stories set against medieval backdrops are the kind you long for most, well…
I have a six-book series (soon to be seven) that might just scratch that itch.
For details, go here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
Have a great weekend, Legionnaire. Stay classy out there!
DJJW